PUTTING ON THE FLIES. 19 



at your fly. When large ones do so it is a proof 

 that you have thrown your fly properly on the 

 water, and you may now add a second fly, which 

 will be your first " dropper." It should be a size 

 smaller than your stretcher, and fastened on a 

 yard higher up from it at one of the joinings of 

 your casting-line. During your first season I 

 advise you not to fish with more than two flies on 

 your line at the same time. You may lengthen 

 your casting-line from two yards to three, and 

 the latter length will be found the best average 

 one for fly-fishing with a single-handed rod. In 

 your second year use three flies, placing them 

 from eighteen inches to two feet apart. The 

 length of gut to each dropper need not exceed 

 two inches. The usual way of attaching flies is 

 by looping them on. The only fly I loop is the 

 stretcher to the loop at the fine end of the casting- 

 line. My droppers having a knot at the end of 

 the gut, I fasten in between the sliding knots by 

 which I tie together the links of gut that form the 

 casting-line. I prefer these sliding knots to the 

 whipped ones, because they are lighter, and enable 

 me to attach and detach my knotted droppers 

 more quickly than if they were looped. The 

 knots will be found quite strong enough if you 

 make them double ; or even single, provided you 

 do not cut off the gut too closely to them. I 

 cannot clearly explain in writing how these sliding 

 c 2 



